Apparatuses, methods, and systems for package on package memory refresh and self-refresh rate management

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatuses relating to package on package memory refresh and self-refresh rate management are described. In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor die, a dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping the processor die, a first thermal sensor of the processor die disposed adjacent to a first hot spot from a first type of workload and a second thermal sensor of the processor die disposed adjacent to a second hot spot from a second type of workload, and a hardware control circuit of the processor die to cause a refresh of a capacitor of the dynamic memory die when either of an output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a first threshold value and an output of the second thermal sensor exceeds a second threshold value.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application is a continuation application claimingpriority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/195,982, filed Jun.28, 2016, and titled: “Apparatuses, Methods, and Systems for Package onPackage Memory Refresh and Self-Refresh Rate Management”, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to electronics, and, more specifically,an embodiment of the disclosure relates to a hardware control circuit tocontrol a package on package memory refresh and/or self-refresh rate.

BACKGROUND

A processor, or set of processors, executes instructions from aninstruction set, e.g., the instruction set architecture (ISA). Theinstruction set is the part of the computer architecture related toprogramming, and generally includes the native data types, instructions,register architecture, addressing modes, memory architecture, interruptand exception handling, and external input and output (I/O). It shouldbe noted that the term instruction herein may refer to amacro-instruction, e.g., an instruction that is provided to theprocessor for execution, or to a micro-instruction, e.g., an instructionthat results from a processor's decoder decoding macro-instructions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and notlimitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which likereferences indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a die according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a memory die according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a two die package on package according to embodimentsof the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a two die package onpackage according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a two die package onpackage according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a three die package on package according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a three die package onpackage according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a three die package onpackage according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a thermal map of a die in use according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a multiple die package on package according toembodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram according to embodiments of thedisclosure.

FIG. 12A is a block diagram illustrating both an exemplary in-orderpipeline and an exemplary register renaming, out-of-orderissue/execution pipeline according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 12B is a block diagram illustrating both an exemplary embodiment ofan in-order architecture core and an exemplary register renaming,out-of-order issue/execution architecture core to be included in aprocessor according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13A is a block diagram of a single processor core, along with itsconnection to the on-die interconnect network and with its local subsetof the Level 2 (L2) cache, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 13B is an expanded view of part of the processor core in FIG. 13Aaccording to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a processor that may have more than onecore, may have an integrated memory controller, and may have integratedgraphics according to embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of a system in accordance with one embodimentof the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a more specific exemplary system inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17, shown is a block diagram of a second more specific exemplarysystem in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18, shown is a block diagram of a system on a chip (SoC) inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram contrasting the use of a software instructionconverter to convert binary instructions in a source instruction set tobinary instructions in a target instruction set according to embodimentsof the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth.However, it is understood that embodiments of the disclosure may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well-knowncircuits, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail inorder not to obscure the understanding of this description.

References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,”“an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment describedmay include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, butevery embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature,structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarilyreferring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature,structure, or characteristic is described in connection with anembodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

A (e.g., hardware) processor, or set of processors, executesinstructions from an instruction set, e.g., the instruction setarchitecture (ISA). The instruction set is the part of the computerarchitecture related to programming, and generally includes the nativedata types, instructions, register architecture, addressing modes,memory architecture, interrupt and exception handling, and externalinput and output (I/O). It should be noted that the term instructionherein may refer to a macro-instruction, e.g., an instruction that isprovided to the processor for execution, or to a micro-instruction,e.g., an instruction that results from a processor's decode unit(decoder) decoding macro-instructions. A processor (e.g., having one ormore cores to decode and/or execute instructions) may operate on data,for example, in performing arithmetic, logic, or other functions. Aprocessor (e.g., having one or more cores) may be formed on a singledie. A die may generally refer to a (e.g., single) piece ofsemiconductor (e.g., silicon) material with one or more integratedcircuits formed therein. A system on a chip (SoC) may generally refer toa single integrated circuit die with a plurality of electroniccomponents included therein, e.g., on-die (e.g., cache) memory,processor(s), graphics processor(s), peripheral interfaces, I/O control,etc.

FIG. 1 illustrates a die 100 according to embodiments of the disclosure.Die 100 may be a processor die (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)die). In certain embodiments, die 100 may include any of the componentsdiscussed below, e.g., processor components. Die 100 may be a system ona chip (SoC) die. In certain embodiments, die 100 may include any of thecomponents discussed below, e.g., SoC components. Depicted die 100includes certain components, but in other embodiments, one or anycombination of components may be utilized.

Depicted die 100 includes multiple cores 1-4 (e.g., each with its owndecoder and execution unit). A core may include a (e.g., L1) cache (notdepicted). A cluster of cores may include an I/O unit, e.g., I/O unit104 for cores 1-2 and I/O unit 106 for cores 3-4. A cluster of cores mayinclude a (e.g., L2) cache, e.g., cache 108 shared by cores 1-2 andcache 110 shared by cores 3-4. Depicted die 100 includes graphicsprocessor 112 (e.g., to create images and/or frames to display) andimage signal processor 114 (for example, to determine colors, etc. foran input image, e.g., from a camera).

The X symbols in FIG. 1 are thermal sensors, e.g., outputting a value toindicate a temperature. Although multiple thermal sensors are depicted,certain embodiments herein may include a single thermal sensor or anyplurality of thermal sensors (for example, one in each component of aprocessor or SoC). Die 100 also includes a hardware control circuit 102,which is discussed further below. A thermal sensor may be a bandgaptemperature sensor.

Note that the figures herein may not depict all data communicationconnections. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that thisis to not obscure certain details in the figures. Any or allcombinations of communications paths may be utilized in certainembodiments herein (e.g., even if not depicted in the figures). Notethat a double headed arrow in the figures may not require two-waycommunication, for example, it may indicate one-way communication (e.g.,to or from that component or device).

FIG. 2 illustrates a memory die 200 according to embodiments of thedisclosure. Memory die may include one or more banks (e.g., bank 1 . . .bank N) of memory devices (e.g., cells). Memory may be dynamic memory,e.g., dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). Depicted memory die 200includes a memory controller 216. Memory controller 216 may receive arequest to access (e.g., load or store) data, for example, from acomponent of a processor or a SoC. In one embodiment, a component(s) ofprocessor die 100 requests access (e.g., to load or store data) tomemory die 200. In one embodiment, one or more of a core (e.g., cores1-4), a cache (e.g., caches 108 and 110), an I/O unit (e.g., I/O units104 and 106), graphics processor (e.g., graphics processor 112), andimage signal processor (e.g., image signal processor 114) access amemory (e.g., a memory die or dies), for example memory die 200.

Dynamic memory (e.g., DRAM) generally refers to memory that stores(e.g., each bit of) data in a separate capacitor within an integratedcircuit. The capacitor may be either charged or discharged (e.g., ascaused by the memory controller 216). The charged (e.g., above athreshold voltage) and uncharged (e.g., below a threshold voltage)states may be taken to represent the two values of a bit, e.g., a binary0 and 1. As capacitors in this embodiment of dynamic memory are leakingcharge (e.g., voltage), the stored information is not retained unlessthe capacitor charge is refreshed, e.g., periodically. In oneembodiment, memory controller 216 is to refresh the capacitor chargewith its current value according to a self-refresh (SR) rate, e.g.,without receiving a command from a component external to the memory die200.

FIG. 3 illustrates a two die package on package 300 according toembodiments of the disclosure. FIGS. 4-5 illustrate examples ofperspective cross-sectional view (e.g., as viewed from a side) of a twodie POP. First die 301 may be mounted to second die 302, for example,with a mechanical attachment and an electrical coupling (e.g.,connection). Die 301 may be a memory (e.g., DRAM) die and die 302 may bea SoC (e.g., processor) die. In one embodiment, die 301 is a lower powerdouble data rate (DDR) memory.

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a two die package onpackage 400 according to embodiments of the disclosure. Second die 402may extend (e.g., laterally) beyond first die 401 along one or more of afirst side 410 and a second side 411. Die 401 may be a memory (e.g.,DRAM) die and die 402 may be a SoC (e.g., processor) die.

FIG. 5 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a two die package 500 on apackage according to embodiments of the disclosure. Die 501 may be amemory (e.g., DRAM) die and die 502 may be a SoC (e.g., processor) die.First die 501 may extend (e.g., laterally) beyond second die 502 alongone or more of a first side 510 and a second side 511. Die 501 may be amemory (e.g., DRAM) die and die 502 may be a SoC (e.g., processor) die.

These views may be of an X axis (e.g., length) or a Y axis (e.g.,width), with the dies stacked along the Z axis (e.g., height). Note thatthe dimensions may not be to scale in certain embodiments.

FIG. 6 illustrates a three die package on package 600 according toembodiments of the disclosure. FIGS. 7-8 illustrate examples ofperspective cross-sectional view (e.g., as viewed from a side) of athree die POP. First die 601 may be mounted to second die 602 which maybe mounted to a third die 603, for example, with a mechanical attachmentand an electrical coupling (e.g., connection). Die 601 may be a memory(e.g., DRAM) die, die 602 may be a memory (e.g., wide I/O memory) die,and die 603 may be a SoC (e.g., processor) die. In one embodiment, die602 is a lower power double data rate (DDR) memory die. In oneembodiment, the bandwidth per die for a memory die 603 is higher thanthat for a memory die 602. Die 601 may be a memory (e.g., DRAM) die, die603 may be a memory (e.g., wide I/O memory) die, and die 602therebetween may be a SoC (e.g., processor) die.

FIG. 7 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a three die package onpackage 700 according to embodiments of the disclosure. Third die 703may extend (e.g., laterally) beyond second die 702 along one or more ofa first side 712 and a second side 713. Second die 702 may extend (e.g.,laterally) beyond first die 701 along one or more of a first side 710and a second side 711.

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross-sectional view of a three die package onpackage 800 according to embodiments of the disclosure. Second die 802may extend (e.g., laterally) beyond first die 801 along one or more of afirst side 810 and a second side 811. Second die 802 may extend (e.g.,laterally) beyond third die 803 along one or more of a first side 812and a second side 813. First die 801 may extend (e.g., laterally) beyondthird die 803 along one or more of a first side (not depicted) and asecond side (depicted).

These views may be of an X axis (e.g., length) or a Y axis (e.g.,width), with the dies stacked along the Z axis (e.g., height). Note thatthe dimensions may not be to scale in certain embodiments.

In one embodiment, the electrical connection is one or more wires. Inone embodiment, the dies are attached together with a polymer, thermalgrease, and/or insulation. In one embodiment, a first die is from afirst manufacturer and a second die is from a second, differentmanufacturer. In one embodiment, the dies are (e.g., perpendicular totheir adjacent planar surfaces) spaced about 20 microns (μm)(micrometers) apart. Although not depicted, memory die may include oneor more thermal sensors in certain embodiments. In certain embodiments,the thermal sensor(s) in the memory die may be less accurate (e.g., notprovide the temperature but a thermal status), e.g., as compared to athermal sensor that provides the temperature (e.g., in the processor orSoC die). In certain embodiments, a first type of thermal sensor mayoutput a value with more precision (e.g., about 8 bits for each outputvalue) than a second type of thermal sensor (e.g., outputting about 3bits for each output value), for example, there is not a linearrelationship between the output of the second type of thermal sensor andthe detected temperature. In one embodiment, the first type of thermalsensor outputs a different value for at least each one degree change(e.g., in Celsius or Fahrenheit) in detected temperature. In oneembodiment, a first die of a package on package (POP) includes aplurality of thermal sensors (e.g., of the first type) and a second dieof the package on the package includes only a single thermal sensor(e.g., of the second type). In one embodiment, a package is mounted ontop of another package, for example, a customer owned package on package(COPOP).

In certain embodiments, a package on package, e.g., a die on a die, theheat generated by use of one die transfers to an adjacent die or dies,e.g., with very little loss. In one embodiment, a memory (e.g., DRAM)die(s) and a processor die or system on a chip (SoC) die are puttogether in a package on package (POP) and the heat transfertherebetween may cause a loss of memory (e.g., DRAM) data. For example,the maximum temperature in the memory die may be impacted by its ownpower consumption and heat, but also by the processor or SoC powerconsumption and heat, e.g., dissipation. Embodiments of this disclosuredescribe a solution to control memory (e.g., DRAM) refresh rate to meetdata retention requirements in multiple die POP configurations.Embodiments of this disclosure provide for a processor or SoC embeddedcircuit to control the memory refresh to address the problem describedabove. Certain embodiments herein do not involve processor die or SoCdie external software and/or control that applies either bandwidthlimiting or additional thermal/cooling solution to mitigate memorythermal problems, e.g., to stay within memory (e.g., DRAM) thermalrequirements for data retention. Certain embodiments herein provide anembedded solution within a SoC (e.g., processor) and memory package onpackage (POP) to control (e.g., manage) thermal data retention riskswithout POP-external dependency. In one embodiment, the embeddedhardware SoC (e.g., processor) control circuit runs at a (e.g., millionsecond) time scale that enables POP power and performance optimizationthat is not achieved by external control logic. Certain embodimentsherein provide a hardware control circuit for two die POP or three diePOP, and may be scaled to work for a greater than three die POP. Certainembodiments herein provide a hardware control circuit to cause a memoryto retain its data regardless of the relative size of a SoC or processor(e.g., CPU) die versus a memory (e.g., DRAM) die.

Certain embodiments herein provide a hardware control circuit to ensurea sufficient refresh or self-refresh of memory (e.g., DRAM) to avoiddata retention loss, for example, with no or limited memory (e.g., DRAM)die and/or POP thermal information. Certain embodiments herein provide ahardware control circuit that takes one, a plurality, or all of thefollowing (e.g., monitored) control inputs: memory (e.g., DRAM) diethermal status of limited thermal sensor(s) (e.g., of the second type)embedded in memory (e.g., DRAM) die, temperature distribution andestimated thermal gradient of SoC (e.g., processor) die (e.g., with athermal sensor(s) of the first type), estimated memory (e.g., DRAM) diethermal gradients based on the adjacent SoC (e.g., processor) diethermal gradient, memory (e.g., DRAM) die power consumption, and SoC(e.g., processor) die power consumption.

Certain embodiments herein provide a hardware control circuit that usesone or more control logic inputs described above to manage memory (e.g.,DRAM) self-refresh rate, for example, based on one or more of thealgorithms discussed herein. Certain embodiments herein provide ahardware control circuit to estimate a thermal gradient of the SoC(e.g., processor), memory die, and/or POP. Certain embodiments hereinprovide a hardware control circuit that pre-emptively sets a sufficientself-refresh rate at entry of low(er) power states. Certain embodimentsherein provide a hardware control circuit that delays or holds-off entryof self-refresh and/or low(er) power state, e.g., when the thermalgradient is too high to allow such an entry. Certain embodiments hereinprovide a hardware control circuit that outputs a refresh signal and/ora self-refresh signal (e.g., new value) or one or multiple memory (e.g.,DRAM) dies. In one embodiment, a hardware control circuit is formed in aSoC (e.g., processor) die. Certain embodiments herein provide a hardwarecontrol circuit that supports monitoring of all inputs, processes theinputs and renders the decision(s) to control (e.g., change or keep)refresh rate, to control, keep, and/or delay self-refresh rate or aself-refresh entry point. Certain embodiments herein include detectingone or more of the hottest regions (e.g., hot spots) in a (e.g., SoC orprocessor) die and locating a thermal sensor (e.g., formed in theintegrated circuit of the die) adjacent to the hot spot(s). A firstsensor may be located adjacent to a hot (e.g., the hottest) spot for afirst type of workload (e.g., a processor intensive operation) and asecond sensor may be located adjacent to a hot (e.g., the hottest) spotfor a second, different type of workload (e.g., a graphics intensiveoperation). FIG. 9 illustrates a thermal map 900 of a (e.g., SoC orprocessor) die in use according to embodiments of the disclosure. Map900 illustrates two hotspots (e.g., 82° C.), for example, to locate oneor more thermal sensors adjacent thereto in a die. In certainembodiments when one die extends beyond another die of a POP, a thermalsensor may be disposed in an area where the dies overlap.

Certain embodiments herein utilize one or more thermal gradient scalingfactors to scale a SoC (e.g., or processor) die thermal gradient into anestimated memory die thermal gradient. In one embodiment of a two diePOP, the SoC (e.g., or processor) die thermal gradient is used toestimate the memory die thermal gradient. In one embodiment of a threedie POP having a SoC (e.g., or processor) die on an end, the SoC diethermal gradient is used to first estimate the thermal gradient of themiddle die, and then another scaling factor is used to estimate thethermal gradient for the memory die on the opposing end. For example, incertain embodiments herein, a hotter spot of a die will impact how hotthe adjacent die gets, and the dynamic memory refresh rate is to accountfor variations of hot (e.g., and cold spots) caused by the SoC die. Inone embodiment, the SoC die creates more heat (e.g., hot spots) than amemory die. In certain embodiments, a hotspot(s) moves around dependingthe workload, for example, which element(s) are utilized (e.g., core,graphics processor, or image signal processor). In some workloads, coresmay run very high performance while graphics processor or image signalprocessor may be idle or near idle. In certain cases, a SoC diehotspot(s) will cause a hotspot in memory (e.g., DRAM) and a controlcircuit is to utilize a higher (e.g., as compared to when the hotspot(s)are not as hot) refresh rate to ensure the memory content is maintained.In one embodiment, the hardware control circuit estimates (e.g.,according to an algorithm) the SoC die thermal gradient and its impactto memory die(s) and uses the information to adjust the memory refreshrate as needed to retain the data, etc.

FIG. 10 illustrates a multiple die package on package 1000 according toembodiments of the disclosure. Note that FIG. 10 is an exploded view inthe sense that die 1001 is to be disposed on top of die 1003, e.g., asin any of FIGS. 3-5. Multiple die package on package 1000 includes amemory die 1001 and second die 1003 (e.g., SoC or processor). Depictedmemory die 1001 includes a thermal status value (for example, fromthermal sensor 1004, e.g., of the second type). In one embodiment, athermal status value is provided for each memory bank (e.g., cells). Inone embodiment, a power consumption value (e.g., from sensor 1006) isprovided for each memory bank (e.g., cells), e.g., for each respectivethermal status value.

Depicted (e.g., SoC or processor) die 1003 includes multiple thermalsensors (e.g., of the first type), e.g., outputting a temperature value.For example, thermal sensor-1 1008 to sensor-N may be distributed arounddie 1003 and not stacked as schematically depicted. Depicted die 1003includes a (e.g., single) power consumption value of the die 1003, e.g.,from sensor 1010. Depicted die 1003 includes a hardware control circuit1002. Hardware control circuit 1002 may receive as input values one ormore of the above values.

In certain embodiments, hardware control circuit 1002 may take as inputone, a plurality, or all of the following: die 1003 (e.g., SoC) thermalsensor readings, memory die 1001 thermal status, SoC power consumption,and memory power consumption. Die 1003 may include one or more of thefollowing components to obtain (e.g., read and/or monitor) the input(s):power management unit (Punit), data unit (Dunit), digital thermometersensor (DTS), etc.

Hardware control circuit 1002 may include circuitry to apply a controlalgorithm to the input(s) and estimate thermal gradients, for example,to use to control a refresh rate (e.g., a self-refresh rate) provided tothe memory die 1001. In one embodiment, hardware control circuit 1002disables entry of the memory die 1001 into a self-refresh mode, e.g.,when a thermal gradient exceeds a threshold value.

In certain embodiments, a hardware control unit implements the followingalgorithm(s). As a first example algorithm to estimate the SoC (e.g., orprocessor) die thermal gradient: SOC_thermal_gradient=max (all SoCthermal sensors)−min (all SoC thermal sensors). In one embodiment wherea SoC die is larger (e.g., in surface area) than a memory (e.g., DRAM)die, a modified SoC thermal gradient may be calculated with the SoCthermal sensor outside (e.g., not overlapping) the memory die couplingremoved: SOC_thermal_gradient_related2Memory=max (all SoC thermal sensorexcluding SoC sensor(s) outside of memory coupling)−min (all SoC thermalsensor(s) excluding the SOC sensor(s) outside of memory coupling). Amemory die (e.g., die 2 in FIGS. 6-8) thermal gradient may be estimatedaccording to MEMORY_die1_thermal_gradient=function(SOC_thermal_gradient,SOC_power, MEMORY_die1_power, thermal_scaling_factor_1). The functionmay be a linear or a non-linear function.

An additional (e.g., spaced apart with a die between it and a SoC die)memory die (e.g., die 1 in FIGS. 6-8) thermal gradient may be estimatedaccording to MEMORY_die2_thermal_gradient=function(SOC_thermal_gradient, SOC_power, MEMORY_die1_power,thermal_scaling_factor_1, MEMORY_die2_power, thermal_scaling_factor_2)

In certain embodiments, a hardware control circuit may loop around tosample inputs (e.g., sensors and/power) and determine conditions forrefresh (e.g., self-refresh) and refresh rate control. The below is anexample of a two die POP control of self-refresh and refresh rate):

-   -   If(MEMORY_die1_thermal_gradient>=MEMORY_die1_SR_threshold)        {Block SR entry and block idle (e.g., S0ix) or deeper sleep        (e.g., Sx) entry}    -   New_refresh_rate=mid    -   If(MEMORY_die1_thermal_gradient<=MEMORY_die1_threshold_X)    -   New_refresh_rate=low    -   Else if(MEMORY_die1_thermal_gradient>MEMORY_die1_threshold_Y)    -   New_refresh_rate=high    -   If(new_refresh_rate !=current_refresh_rate) {    -   Issue Dunit command to change DRAM_die1 refresh rate    -   Dunit/Phy HW execute new refresh rate    -   Current_refresh_rate=new_refresh_rate        }

Similar control may be implemented for DRAM_die1 and DRAM_die2 in thethree die POP case.

In certain embodiments, there are multiple ways to implement theestimation of thermal gradients and/or memory refresh or self-refresh(SR) control. Certain embodiments herein may utilize multiple thermalsensors placed on SoC die and/or memory die to better track thermalgradient, e.g., to have a tight control of refresh rate or SR atincreased POP cost. In certain embodiments, there are multiple ways tomanipulate thermal gradients by throttling a SoC's performance to reducethermal gradient(s), e.g., if a SOC and/or memory performance reductionis acceptable or preferred over a refresh rate change. A silicon productmay choose to implement one or multiple aspects of this disclosure.Certain embodiments herein ensure that memory (e.g., DRAM) is properlyrefreshed (e.g., either auto or SR) per its thermal conditions, forexample, in a dynamic fashion. Certain embodiments herein allow a die tobe spaced closer to another die in a POP, e.g., to achieve a smaller(thinner) Z axis height without compromising memory data retention.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow diagram according to embodiments of thedisclosure. Flow 1100 includes providing a processor die and a dynamicmemory die mounted to and overlapping the processor die, wherein a firstthermal sensor of the processor die is disposed adjacent to a first hotspot from a first type of workload and a second thermal sensor of theprocessor die is disposed adjacent to a second hot spot from a secondtype of workload 1102; and causing, with a hardware control circuit ofthe processor die, a refresh of a capacitor of the dynamic memory diewhen either of an output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a firstthreshold value and an output of the second thermal sensor exceeds asecond threshold value 1104.

In one embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor die, a dynamicmemory die mounted to and overlapping the processor die, a first thermalsensor of the processor die disposed adjacent to a first hot spot from afirst type of workload and a second thermal sensor of the processor diedisposed adjacent to a second hot spot from a second type of workload,and a hardware control circuit of the processor die to cause a refreshof a capacitor of the dynamic memory die when either of an output of thefirst thermal sensor exceeds a first threshold value and an output ofthe second thermal sensor exceeds a second threshold value. Theapparatus may further include a second, dynamic memory die mounted toand overlapping one of the processor die and the dynamic memory die,wherein the hardware control circuit is to cause a refresh of acapacitor of the second, dynamic memory die when either of the output ofthe first thermal sensor exceeds the first threshold value and theoutput of the second thermal sensor exceed the second threshold value.The processor die may extend beyond the dynamic memory die, and thefirst thermal sensor of the processor die and the second thermal sensorof the processor die may be disposed adjacent to the dynamic memory die.The hardware control circuit of the processor die may not refresh thecapacitor when either of the output of the first thermal sensor exceedsa third threshold value, greater than the first threshold value, and theoutput of the second thermal sensor exceeds a fourth threshold value,greater than the second threshold value. The hardware control circuitmay cause the refresh when a difference between a higher of the outputsof the first thermal sensor and the second thermal sensor and the otherof the outputs exceeds a threshold value. The hardware control circuitmay further cause a refresh based on a power consumption of the dynamicmemory die. Additionally or alternatively, the hardware control circuitmay further cause a refresh based on a power consumption of theprocessor die.

In another embodiment, a method includes providing a processor die and adynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping the processor die, whereina first thermal sensor of the processor die is disposed adjacent to afirst hot spot from a first type of workload and a second thermal sensorof the processor die is disposed adjacent to a second hot spot from asecond type of workload, and causing, with a hardware control circuit ofthe processor die, a refresh of a capacitor of the dynamic memory diewhen either of an output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a firstthreshold value and an output of the second thermal sensor exceeds asecond threshold value. The method may include providing a second,dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping one of the processor dieand the dynamic memory die, and causing, with the hardware controlcircuit, a refresh of a capacitor of the second, dynamic memory die wheneither of the output of the first thermal sensor exceeds the firstthreshold value and the output of the second thermal sensor exceed thesecond threshold value. The processor die may extend beyond the dynamicmemory die, and the first thermal sensor of the processor die and thesecond thermal sensor of the processor die may be disposed adjacent tothe dynamic memory die. The method may include not refreshing, with thehardware control circuit, the capacitor when either of the output of thefirst thermal sensor exceeds a third threshold value, greater than thefirst threshold value, and the output of the second thermal sensorexceeds a fourth threshold value, greater than the second thresholdvalue. The hardware control circuit may not to cause the refresh when adifference between a higher of the outputs of the first thermal sensorand the second thermal sensor and the other of the outputs exceeds athreshold value. The hardware control circuit may further cause arefresh based on a power consumption of the dynamic memory die.Additionally or alternatively, the hardware control circuit may furthercause a refresh based on a power consumption of the processor die.

In yet another embodiment, an apparatus includes a system on a chip die,a dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping the system on a chipdie, a first thermal sensor of the system on a chip die disposedadjacent to a first hot spot from a first type of workload and a secondthermal sensor of the system on a chip die disposed adjacent to a secondhot spot from a second type of workload, and a hardware control circuitof the system on a chip die to cause a refresh of a capacitor of thedynamic memory die when either of an output of the first thermal sensorexceeds a first threshold value and an output of the second thermalsensor exceeds a second threshold value. The apparatus may furtherinclude a second, dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping one ofthe system on a chip die and the dynamic memory die, wherein thehardware control circuit is to cause a refresh of a capacitor of thesecond, dynamic memory die when either of the output of the firstthermal sensor exceeds the first threshold value and the output of thesecond thermal sensor exceed the second threshold value. The system on achip die may extend beyond the dynamic memory die, and the first thermalsensor of the system on a chip die and the second thermal sensor of thesystem on a chip die may be disposed adjacent to the dynamic memory die.The hardware control circuit of the system on a chip die may not refreshthe capacitor when either of the output of the first thermal sensorexceeds a third threshold value, greater than the first threshold value,and the output of the second thermal sensor exceeds a fourth thresholdvalue, greater than the second threshold value. The hardware controlcircuit may cause the refresh when a difference between a higher of theoutputs of the first thermal sensor and the second thermal sensor andthe other of the outputs exceeds a threshold value. The hardware controlcircuit may further cause a refresh based on a power consumption of thedynamic memory die. Additionally or alternatively, the hardware controlcircuit may further cause a refresh based on a power consumption of thesystem on a chip die.

In another embodiment, an apparatus includes a processor or SoC die, adynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping the processor or SoC die,a first thermal sensor of the processor or SoC die disposed adjacent toa first hot spot from a first type of workload and a second thermalsensor of the processor or Soc die disposed adjacent to a second hotspot from a second type of workload, and means of the processor die tocause a refresh of a capacitor of the dynamic memory die when either ofan output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a first threshold valueand an output of the second thermal sensor exceeds a second thresholdvalue.

In yet another embodiment, an apparatus comprises a data storage devicethat stores code that when executed by a hardware processor causes thehardware processor to perform any method disclosed herein. An apparatusmay be as described in the detailed description. A method may be asdescribed in the detailed description.

In another embodiment, a non-transitory machine readable medium thatstores code that when executed by a machine causes the machine toperform a method comprising any method disclosed herein.

An instruction set may include one or more instruction formats. A giveninstruction format may define various fields (e.g., number of bits,location of bits) to specify, among other things, the operation to beperformed (e.g., opcode) and the operand(s) on which that operation isto be performed and/or other data field(s) (e.g., mask). Someinstruction formats are further broken down though the definition ofinstruction templates (or subformats). For example, the instructiontemplates of a given instruction format may be defined to have differentsubsets of the instruction format's fields (the included fields aretypically in the same order, but at least some have different bitpositions because there are less fields included) and/or defined to havea given field interpreted differently. Thus, each instruction of an ISAis expressed using a given instruction format (and, if defined, in agiven one of the instruction templates of that instruction format) andincludes fields for specifying the operation and the operands. Forexample, an exemplary ADD instruction has a specific opcode and aninstruction format that includes an opcode field to specify that opcodeand operand fields to select operands (source1/destination and source2);and an occurrence of this ADD instruction in an instruction stream willhave specific contents in the operand fields that select specificoperands. A set of SIMD extensions referred to as the Advanced VectorExtensions (AVX) (AVX1 and AVX2) and using the Vector Extensions (VEX)coding scheme has been released and/or published (e.g., see Intel® 64and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual, April 2016; and seeIntel® Architecture Instruction Set Extensions Programming Reference,February 2016).

Exemplary Core Architectures, Processors, and Computer Architectures

Processor cores may be implemented in different ways, for differentpurposes, and in different processors. For instance, implementations ofsuch cores may include: 1) a general purpose in-order core intended forgeneral-purpose computing; 2) a high performance general purposeout-of-order core intended for general-purpose computing; 3) a specialpurpose core intended primarily for graphics and/or scientific(throughput) computing. Implementations of different processors mayinclude: 1) a CPU including one or more general purpose in-order coresintended for general-purpose computing and/or one or more generalpurpose out-of-order cores intended for general-purpose computing; and2) a coprocessor including one or more special purpose cores intendedprimarily for graphics and/or scientific (throughput). Such differentprocessors lead to different computer system architectures, which mayinclude: 1) the coprocessor on a separate chip from the CPU; 2) thecoprocessor on a separate die in the same package as a CPU; 3) thecoprocessor on the same die as a CPU (in which case, such a coprocessoris sometimes referred to as special purpose logic, such as integratedgraphics and/or scientific (throughput) logic, or as special purposecores); and 4) a system on a chip that may include on the same die thedescribed CPU (sometimes referred to as the application core(s) orapplication processor(s)), the above described coprocessor, andadditional functionality. Exemplary core architectures are describednext, followed by descriptions of exemplary processors and computerarchitectures.

Exemplary Core Architectures

In-Order and Out-of-Order Core Block Diagram

FIG. 12A is a block diagram illustrating both an exemplary in-orderpipeline and an exemplary register renaming, out-of-orderissue/execution pipeline according to embodiments of the disclosure.FIG. 12B is a block diagram illustrating both an exemplary embodiment ofan in-order architecture core and an exemplary register renaming,out-of-order issue/execution architecture core to be included in aprocessor according to embodiments of the disclosure. The solid linedboxes in FIGS. 12A-B illustrate the in-order pipeline and in-order core,while the optional addition of the dashed lined boxes illustrates theregister renaming, out-of-order issue/execution pipeline and core. Giventhat the in-order aspect is a subset of the out-of-order aspect, theout-of-order aspect will be described.

In FIG. 12A, a processor pipeline 1200 includes a fetch stage 1202, alength decode stage 1204, a decode stage 1206, an allocation stage 1208,a renaming stage 1210, a scheduling (also known as a dispatch or issue)stage 1212, a register read/memory read stage 1214, an execute stage1216, a write back/memory write stage 1218, an exception handling stage1222, and a commit stage 1224.

FIG. 12B shows processor core 1290 including a front end unit 1230coupled to an execution engine unit 1250, and both are coupled to amemory unit 1270. The core 1290 may be a reduced instruction setcomputing (RISC) core, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) core,a very long instruction word (VLIW) core, or a hybrid or alternativecore type. As yet another option, the core 1290 may be a special-purposecore, such as, for example, a network or communication core, compressionengine, coprocessor core, general purpose computing graphics processingunit (GPGPU) core, graphics core, or the like.

The front end unit 1230 includes a branch prediction unit 1232 coupledto an instruction cache unit 1234, which is coupled to an instructiontranslation lookaside buffer (TLB) 1236, which is coupled to aninstruction fetch unit 1238, which is coupled to a decode unit 1240. Thedecode unit 1240 (or decoder or decoder unit) may decode instructions(e.g., macro-instructions), and generate as an output one or moremicro-operations, micro-code entry points, micro-instructions, otherinstructions, or other control signals, which are decoded from, or whichotherwise reflect, or are derived from, the original instructions. Thedecode unit 1240 may be implemented using various different mechanisms.Examples of suitable mechanisms include, but are not limited to, look-uptables, hardware implementations, programmable logic arrays (PLAs),microcode read only memories (ROMs), etc. In one embodiment, the core1290 includes a microcode ROM or other medium that stores microcode forcertain macroinstructions (e.g., in decode unit 1240 or otherwise withinthe front end unit 1230). The decode unit 1240 is coupled to arename/allocator unit 1252 in the execution engine unit 1250.

The execution engine unit 1250 includes the rename/allocator unit 1252coupled to a retirement unit 1254 and a set of one or more schedulerunit(s) 1256. The scheduler unit(s) 1256 represents any number ofdifferent schedulers, including reservations stations, centralinstruction window, etc. The scheduler unit(s) 1256 is coupled to thephysical register file(s) unit(s) 1258. Each of the physical registerfile(s) units 1258 represents one or more physical register files,different ones of which store one or more different data types, such asscalar integer, scalar floating point, packed integer, packed floatingpoint, vector integer, vector floating point-status (e.g., aninstruction pointer that is the address of the next instruction to beexecuted), etc. In one embodiment, the physical register file(s) unit1258 comprises a vector registers unit, a write mask registers unit, anda scalar registers unit. These register units may provide architecturalvector registers, vector mask registers, and general purpose registers.The physical register file(s) unit(s) 1258 is overlapped by theretirement unit 1254 to illustrate various ways in which registerrenaming and out-of-order execution may be implemented (e.g., using areorder buffer(s) and a retirement register file(s); using a futurefile(s), a history buffer(s), and a retirement register file(s); using aregister maps and a pool of registers; etc.). The retirement unit 1254and the physical register file(s) unit(s) 1258 are coupled to theexecution cluster(s) 1260. The execution cluster(s) 1260 includes a setof one or more execution units 1262 and a set of one or more memoryaccess units 1264. The execution units 1262 may perform variousoperations (e.g., shifts, addition, subtraction, multiplication) and onvarious types of data (e.g., scalar floating point, packed integer,packed floating point, vector integer, vector floating point). Whilesome embodiments may include a number of execution units dedicated tospecific functions or sets of functions, other embodiments may includeonly one execution unit or multiple execution units that all perform allfunctions. The scheduler unit(s) 1256, physical register file(s) unit(s)1258, and execution cluster(s) 1260 are shown as being possibly pluralbecause certain embodiments create separate pipelines for certain typesof data/operations (e.g., a scalar integer pipeline, a scalar floatingpoint/packed integer/packed floating point/vector integer/vectorfloating point pipeline, and/or a memory access pipeline that each havetheir own scheduler unit, physical register file(s) unit, and/orexecution cluster—and in the case of a separate memory access pipeline,certain embodiments are implemented in which only the execution clusterof this pipeline has the memory access unit(s) 1264). It should also beunderstood that where separate pipelines are used, one or more of thesepipelines may be out-of-order issue/execution and the rest in-order.

The set of memory access units 1264 is coupled to the memory unit 1270,which includes a data TLB unit 1272 coupled to a data cache unit 1274coupled to a level 2 (L2) cache unit 1276. In one exemplary embodiment,the memory access units 1264 may include a load unit, a store addressunit, and a store data unit, each of which is coupled to the data TLBunit 1272 in the memory unit 1270. The instruction cache unit 1234 isfurther coupled to a level 2 (L2) cache unit 1276 in the memory unit1270. The L2 cache unit 1276 is coupled to one or more other levels ofcache and eventually to a main memory.

By way of example, the exemplary register renaming, out-of-orderissue/execution core architecture may implement the pipeline 1200 asfollows: 1) the instruction fetch 1238 performs the fetch and lengthdecoding stages 1202 and 1204; 2) the decode unit 1240 performs thedecode stage 1206; 3) the rename/allocator unit 1252 performs theallocation stage 1208 and renaming stage 1210; 4) the scheduler unit(s)1256 performs the schedule stage 1212; 5) the physical register file(s)unit(s) 1258 and the memory unit 1270 perform the register read/memoryread stage 1214; the execution cluster 1260 perform the execute stage1216; 6) the memory unit 1270 and the physical register file(s) unit(s)1258 perform the write back/memory write stage 1218; 7) various unitsmay be involved in the exception handling stage 1222; and 8) theretirement unit 1254 and the physical register file(s) unit(s) 1258perform the commit stage 1224.

The core 1290 may support one or more instructions sets (e.g., the x86instruction set (with some extensions that have been added with newerversions); the MIPS instruction set of MIPS Technologies of Sunnyvale,Calif.; the ARM instruction set (with optional additional extensionssuch as NEON) of ARM Holdings of Sunnyvale, Calif.), including theinstruction(s) described herein. In one embodiment, the core 1290includes logic to support a packed data instruction set extension (e.g.,AVX1, AVX2), thereby allowing the operations used by many multimediaapplications to be performed using packed data.

It should be understood that the core may support multithreading(executing two or more parallel sets of operations or threads), and maydo so in a variety of ways including time sliced multithreading,simultaneous multithreading (where a single physical core provides alogical core for each of the threads that physical core issimultaneously multithreading), or a combination thereof (e.g., timesliced fetching and decoding and simultaneous multithreading thereaftersuch as in the Intel® Hyperthreading technology).

While register renaming is described in the context of out-of-orderexecution, it should be understood that register renaming may be used inan in-order architecture. While the illustrated embodiment of theprocessor also includes separate instruction and data cache units1234/1274 and a shared L2 cache unit 1276, alternative embodiments mayhave a single internal cache for both instructions and data, such as,for example, a Level 1 (L1) internal cache, or multiple levels ofinternal cache. In some embodiments, the system may include acombination of an internal cache and an external cache that is externalto the core and/or the processor. Alternatively, all of the cache may beexternal to the core and/or the processor.

Specific Exemplary in-Order Core Architecture

FIGS. 13A-B illustrate a block diagram of a more specific exemplaryin-order core architecture, which core would be one of several logicblocks (including other cores of the same type and/or different types)in a chip. The logic blocks communicate through a high-bandwidthinterconnect network (e.g., a ring network) with some fixed functionlogic, memory I/O interfaces, and other necessary I/O logic, dependingon the application.

FIG. 13A is a block diagram of a single processor core, along with itsconnection to the on-die interconnect network 1302 and with its localsubset of the Level 2 (L2) cache 1304, according to embodiments of thedisclosure. In one embodiment, an instruction decode unit 1300 supportsthe x86 instruction set with a packed data instruction set extension. AnL1 cache 1306 allows low-latency accesses to cache memory into thescalar and vector units. While in one embodiment (to simplify thedesign), a scalar unit 1308 and a vector unit 1310 use separate registersets (respectively, scalar registers 1312 and vector registers 1314) anddata transferred between them is written to memory and then read back infrom a level 1 (L1) cache 1306, alternative embodiments of thedisclosure may use a different approach (e.g., use a single register setor include a communication path that allow data to be transferredbetween the two register files without being written and read back).

The local subset of the L2 cache 1304 is part of a global L2 cache thatis divided into separate local subsets, one per processor core. Eachprocessor core has a direct access path to its own local subset of theL2 cache 1304. Data read by a processor core is stored in its L2 cachesubset 1304 and can be accessed quickly, in parallel with otherprocessor cores accessing their own local L2 cache subsets. Data writtenby a processor core is stored in its own L2 cache subset 1304 and isflushed from other subsets, if necessary. The ring network ensurescoherency for shared data. The ring network is bi-directional to allowagents such as processor cores, L2 caches and other logic blocks tocommunicate with each other within the chip. Each ring data-path is1012-bits wide per direction.

FIG. 13B is an expanded view of part of the processor core in FIG. 13Aaccording to embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 13B includes an L1 datacache 1306A part of the L1 cache 1304, as well as more detail regardingthe vector unit 1310 and the vector registers 1314. Specifically, thevector unit 1310 is a 16-wide vector processing unit (VPU) (see the16-wide ALU 1328), which executes one or more of integer,single-precision float, and double-precision float instructions. The VPUsupports swizzling the register inputs with swizzle unit 1320, numericconversion with numeric convert units 1322A-B, and replication withreplication unit 1324 on the memory input. Write mask registers 1326allow predicating resulting vector writes.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of a processor 1400 that may have more thanone core, may have an integrated memory controller, and may haveintegrated graphics according to embodiments of the disclosure. Thesolid lined boxes in FIG. 14 illustrate a processor 1400 with a singlecore 1402A, a system agent 1410, a set of one or more bus controllerunits 1416, while the optional addition of the dashed lined boxesillustrates an alternative processor 1400 with multiple cores 1402A-N, aset of one or more integrated memory controller unit(s) 1414 in thesystem agent unit 1410, and special purpose logic 1408.

Thus, different implementations of the processor 1400 may include: 1) aCPU with the special purpose logic 1408 being integrated graphics and/orscientific (throughput) logic (which may include one or more cores), andthe cores 1402A-N being one or more general purpose cores (e.g., generalpurpose in-order cores, general purpose out-of-order cores, acombination of the two); 2) a coprocessor with the cores 1402A-N being alarge number of special purpose cores intended primarily for graphicsand/or scientific (throughput); and 3) a coprocessor with the cores1402A-N being a large number of general purpose in-order cores. Thus,the processor 1400 may be a general-purpose processor, coprocessor orspecial-purpose processor, such as, for example, a network orcommunication processor, compression engine, graphics processor, GPGPU(general purpose graphics processing unit), a high-throughput manyintegrated core (MIC) coprocessor (including 30 or more cores), embeddedprocessor, or the like. The processor may be implemented on one or morechips. The processor 1400 may be a part of and/or may be implemented onone or more substrates using any of a number of process technologies,such as, for example, BiCMOS, CMOS, or NMOS.

The memory hierarchy includes one or more levels of cache within thecores, a set or one or more shared cache units 1406, and external memory(not shown) coupled to the set of integrated memory controller units1414. The set of shared cache units 1406 may include one or moremid-level caches, such as level 2 (L2), level 3 (L3), level 4 (L4), orother levels of cache, a last level cache (LLC), and/or combinationsthereof. While in one embodiment a ring based interconnect unit 1412interconnects the integrated graphics logic 1408, the set of sharedcache units 1406, and the system agent unit 1410/integrated memorycontroller unit(s) 1414, alternative embodiments may use any number ofwell-known techniques for interconnecting such units. In one embodiment,coherency is maintained between one or more cache units 1406 and cores1402-A-N.

In some embodiments, one or more of the cores 1402A-N are capable ofmultithreading. The system agent 1410 includes those componentscoordinating and operating cores 1402A-N. The system agent unit 1410 mayinclude for example a power control unit (PCU) and a display unit. ThePCU may be or include logic and components needed for regulating thepower state of the cores 1402A-N and the integrated graphics logic 1408.The display unit is for driving one or more externally connecteddisplays.

The cores 1402A-N may be homogenous or heterogeneous in terms ofarchitecture instruction set; that is, two or more of the cores 1402A-Nmay be capable of execution the same instruction set, while others maybe capable of executing only a subset of that instruction set or adifferent instruction set.

Exemplary Computer Architectures

FIGS. 15-18 are block diagrams of exemplary computer architectures.Other system designs and configurations known in the arts for laptops,desktops, handheld PCs, personal digital assistants, engineeringworkstations, servers, network devices, network hubs, switches, embeddedprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), graphics devices, videogame devices, set-top boxes, micro controllers, cell phones, portablemedia players, hand held devices, and various other electronic devices,are also suitable. In general, a huge variety of systems or electronicdevices capable of incorporating a processor and/or other executionlogic as disclosed herein are generally suitable.

Referring now to FIG. 15, shown is a block diagram of a system 1500 inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system1500 may include one or more processors 1510, 1515, which are coupled toa controller hub 1520. In one embodiment the controller hub 1520includes a graphics memory controller hub (GMCH) 1590 and anInput/Output Hub (IOH) 1550 (which may be on separate chips); the GMCH1590 includes memory and graphics controllers to which are coupledmemory 1540 and a coprocessor 1545; the IOH 1550 is couples input/output(I/O) devices 1560 to the GMCH 1590. Alternatively, one or both of thememory and graphics controllers are integrated within the processor (asdescribed herein), the memory 1540 and the coprocessor 1545 are coupleddirectly to the processor 1510, and the controller hub 1520 in a singlechip with the IOH 1550. Memory 1540 may include a memory refreshmanagement module 1540A, for example, to store code that when executedcauses a processor to perform any method of this disclosure.

The optional nature of additional processors 1515 is denoted in FIG. 15with broken lines. Each processor 1510, 1515 may include one or more ofthe processing cores described herein and may be some version of theprocessor 1400.

The memory 1540 may be, for example, dynamic random access memory(DRAM), phase change memory (PCM), or a combination of the two. For atleast one embodiment, the controller hub 1520 communicates with theprocessor(s) 1510, 1515 via a multi-drop bus, such as a frontside bus(FSB), point-to-point interface such as QuickPath Interconnect (QPI), orsimilar connection 1595.

In one embodiment, the coprocessor 1545 is a special-purpose processor,such as, for example, a high-throughput MIC processor, a network orcommunication processor, compression engine, graphics processor, GPGPU,embedded processor, or the like. In one embodiment, controller hub 1520may include an integrated graphics accelerator.

There can be a variety of differences between the physical resources1510, 1515 in terms of a spectrum of metrics of merit includingarchitectural, microarchitectural, thermal, power consumptioncharacteristics, and the like.

In one embodiment, the processor 1510 executes instructions that controldata processing operations of a general type. Embedded within theinstructions may be coprocessor instructions. The processor 1510recognizes these coprocessor instructions as being of a type that shouldbe executed by the attached coprocessor 1545. Accordingly, the processor1510 issues these coprocessor instructions (or control signalsrepresenting coprocessor instructions) on a coprocessor bus or otherinterconnect, to coprocessor 1545. Coprocessor(s) 1545 accept andexecute the received coprocessor instructions.

Referring now to FIG. 16, shown is a block diagram of a first morespecific exemplary system 1600 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As shown in FIG. 16, multiprocessor system 1600 is apoint-to-point interconnect system, and includes a first processor 1670and a second processor 1680 coupled via a point-to-point interconnect1650. Each of processors 1670 and 1680 may be some version of theprocessor 1400. In one embodiment of the disclosure, processors 1670 and1680 are respectively processors 1510 and 1515, while coprocessor 1638is coprocessor 1545. In another embodiment, processors 1670 and 1680 arerespectively processor 1510 coprocessor 1545.

Processors 1670 and 1680 are shown including integrated memorycontroller (IMC) units 1672 and 1682, respectively. Processor 1670 alsoincludes as part of its bus controller units point-to-point (P-P)interfaces 1676 and 1678; similarly, second processor 1680 includes P-Pinterfaces 1686 and 1688. Processors 1670, 1680 may exchange informationvia a point-to-point (P-P) interface 1650 using P-P interface circuits1678, 1688. As shown in FIG. 16, IMCs 1672 and 1682 couple theprocessors to respective memories, namely a memory 1632 and a memory1634, which may be portions of main memory locally attached to therespective processors.

Processors 1670, 1680 may each exchange information with a chipset 1690via individual P-P interfaces 1652, 1654 using point to point interfacecircuits 1676, 1694, 1686, 1698. Chipset 1690 may optionally exchangeinformation with the coprocessor 1638 via a high-performance interface1639. In one embodiment, the coprocessor 1638 is a special-purposeprocessor, such as, for example, a high-throughput MIC processor, anetwork or communication processor, compression engine, graphicsprocessor, GPGPU, embedded processor, or the like.

A shared cache (not shown) may be included in either processor oroutside of both processors, yet connected with the processors via P-Pinterconnect, such that either or both processors' local cacheinformation may be stored in the shared cache if a processor is placedinto a low power mode.

Chipset 1690 may be coupled to a first bus 1616 via an interface 1696.In one embodiment, first bus 1616 may be a Peripheral ComponentInterconnect (PCI) bus, or a bus such as a PCI Express bus or anotherthird generation I/O interconnect bus, although the scope of the presentdisclosure is not so limited.

As shown in FIG. 16, various I/O devices 1614 may be coupled to firstbus 1616, along with a bus bridge 1618 which couples first bus 1616 to asecond bus 1620. In one embodiment, one or more additional processor(s)1615, such as coprocessors, high-throughput MIC processors, GPGPU's,accelerators (such as, e.g., graphics accelerators or digital signalprocessing (DSP) units), field programmable gate arrays, or any otherprocessor, are coupled to first bus 1616. In one embodiment, second bus1620 may be a low pin count (LPC) bus. Various devices may be coupled toa second bus 1620 including, for example, a keyboard and/or mouse 1622,communication devices 1627 and a storage unit 1628 such as a disk driveor other mass storage device which may include instructions/code anddata 1630, in one embodiment. Further, an audio I/O 1624 may be coupledto the second bus 1620. Note that other architectures are possible. Forexample, instead of the point-to-point architecture of FIG. 16, a systemmay implement a multi-drop bus or other such architecture.

Referring now to FIG. 17, shown is a block diagram of a second morespecific exemplary system 1700 in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure Like elements in FIGS. 16 and 17 bear like referencenumerals, and certain aspects of FIG. 16 have been omitted from FIG. 17in order to avoid obscuring other aspects of FIG. 17.

FIG. 17 illustrates that the processors 1670, 1680 may includeintegrated memory and I/O control logic (“CL”) 1672 and 1682,respectively. Thus, the CL 1672, 1682 include integrated memorycontroller units and include I/O control logic. FIG. 17 illustrates thatnot only are the memories 1632, 1634 coupled to the CL 1672, 1682, butalso that I/O devices 1714 are also coupled to the control logic 1672,1682. Legacy I/O devices 1715 are coupled to the chipset 1690.

Referring now to FIG. 18, shown is a block diagram of a SoC 1800 inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Similarelements in FIG. 14 bear like reference numerals. Also, dashed linedboxes are optional features on more advanced SoCs. In FIG. 18, aninterconnect unit(s) 1802 is coupled to: an application processor 1810which includes a set of one or more cores 202A-N and shared cacheunit(s) 1406; a system agent unit 1410; a bus controller unit(s) 1416;an integrated memory controller unit(s) 1414; a set or one or morecoprocessors 1820 which may include integrated graphics logic, an imageprocessor, an audio processor, and a video processor; an static randomaccess memory (SRAM) unit 1830; a direct memory access (DMA) unit 1832;and a display unit 1840 for coupling to one or more external displays.In one embodiment, the coprocessor(s) 1820 include a special-purposeprocessor, such as, for example, a network or communication processor,compression engine, GPGPU, a high-throughput MIC processor, embeddedprocessor, or the like.

Embodiments (e.g., of the mechanisms) disclosed herein may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination of suchimplementation approaches. Embodiments of the disclosure may beimplemented as computer programs or program code executing onprogrammable systems comprising at least one processor, a storage system(including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), atleast one input device, and at least one output device.

Program code, such as code 1630 illustrated in FIG. 16, may be appliedto input instructions to perform the functions described herein andgenerate output information. The output information may be applied toone or more output devices, in known fashion. For purposes of thisapplication, a processing system includes any system that has aprocessor, such as, for example; a digital signal processor (DSP), amicrocontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or amicroprocessor.

The program code may be implemented in a high level procedural or objectoriented programming language to communicate with a processing system.The program code may also be implemented in assembly or machinelanguage, if desired. In fact, the mechanisms described herein are notlimited in scope to any particular programming language. In any case,the language may be a compiled or interpreted language.

One or more aspects of at least one embodiment may be implemented byrepresentative instructions stored on a machine-readable medium whichrepresents various logic within the processor, which when read by amachine causes the machine to fabricate logic to perform the techniquesdescribed herein. Such representations, known as “IP cores” may bestored on a tangible, machine readable medium and supplied to variouscustomers or manufacturing facilities to load into the fabricationmachines that actually make the logic or processor.

Such machine-readable storage media may include, without limitation,non-transitory, tangible arrangements of articles manufactured or formedby a machine or device, including storage media such as hard disks, anyother type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, compact diskread-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritable's (CD-RWs), andmagneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only memories(ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic random accessmemories (DRAMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), erasableprogrammable read-only memories (EPROMs), flash memories, electricallyerasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), phase change memory(PCM), magnetic or optical cards, or any other type of media suitablefor storing electronic instructions.

Accordingly, embodiments of the disclosure also include non-transitory,tangible machine-readable media containing instructions or containingdesign data, such as Hardware Description Language (HDL), which definesstructures, circuits, apparatuses, processors and/or system featuresdescribed herein. Such embodiments may also be referred to as programproducts.

Emulation (Including Binary Translation, Code Morphing, Etc.)

In some cases, an instruction converter may be used to convert aninstruction from a source instruction set to a target instruction set.For example, the instruction converter may translate (e.g., using staticbinary translation, dynamic binary translation including dynamiccompilation), morph, emulate, or otherwise convert an instruction to oneor more other instructions to be processed by the core. The instructionconverter may be implemented in software, hardware, firmware, or acombination thereof. The instruction converter may be on processor, offprocessor, or part on and part off processor.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram contrasting the use of a software instructionconverter to convert binary instructions in a source instruction set tobinary instructions in a target instruction set according to embodimentsof the disclosure. In the illustrated embodiment, the instructionconverter is a software instruction converter, although alternativelythe instruction converter may be implemented in software, firmware,hardware, or various combinations thereof. FIG. 19 shows a program in ahigh level language 1902 may be compiled using an x86 compiler 1904 togenerate x86 binary code 1906 that may be natively executed by aprocessor with at least one x86 instruction set core 1916. The processorwith at least one x86 instruction set core 1916 represents any processorthat can perform substantially the same functions as an Intel processorwith at least one x86 instruction set core by compatibly executing orotherwise processing (1) a substantial portion of the instruction set ofthe Intel x86 instruction set core or (2) object code versions ofapplications or other software targeted to run on an Intel processorwith at least one x86 instruction set core, in order to achievesubstantially the same result as an Intel processor with at least onex86 instruction set core. The x86 compiler 1904 represents a compilerthat is operable to generate x86 binary code 1906 (e.g., object code)that can, with or without additional linkage processing, be executed onthe processor with at least one x86 instruction set core 1916.Similarly, FIG. 19 shows the program in the high level language 1902 maybe compiled using an alternative instruction set compiler 1908 togenerate alternative instruction set binary code 1910 that may benatively executed by a processor without at least one x86 instructionset core 1914 (e.g., a processor with cores that execute the MIPSinstruction set of MIPS Technologies of Sunnyvale, Calif. and/or thatexecute the ARM instruction set of ARM Holdings of Sunnyvale, Calif.).The instruction converter 1912 is used to convert the x86 binary code1906 into code that may be natively executed by the processor without anx86 instruction set core 1914. This converted code is not likely to bethe same as the alternative instruction set binary code 1910 because aninstruction converter capable of this is difficult to make; however, theconverted code will accomplish the general operation and be made up ofinstructions from the alternative instruction set. Thus, the instructionconverter 1912 represents software, firmware, hardware, or a combinationthereof that, through emulation, simulation or any other process, allowsa processor or other electronic device that does not have an x86instruction set processor or core to execute the x86 binary code 1906.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a die comprising a coreand a graphics processor; a dynamic memory die mounted to andoverlapping the die; a first thermal sensor of the die disposed adjacentto a first hot spot from a workload of the graphics processor and asecond thermal sensor of the die disposed adjacent to a second hot spotfrom a workload of the core; and a hardware control circuit of the dieto cause a refresh of a capacitor of the dynamic memory die when eitherof an output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a first threshold valueand an output of the second thermal sensor exceeds a second thresholdvalue.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second, dynamicmemory die mounted to and overlapping one of the die and the dynamicmemory die, wherein the hardware control circuit is to cause a refreshof a capacitor of the second, dynamic memory die when either of theoutput of the first thermal sensor exceeds the first threshold value andthe output of the second thermal sensor exceed the second thresholdvalue.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the die extends beyond thedynamic memory die, and the first thermal sensor of the die and thesecond thermal sensor of the die are disposed adjacent to the dynamicmemory die.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hardware controlcircuit of the die is to not refresh the capacitor when either of theoutput of the first thermal sensor exceeds a third threshold value,greater than the first threshold value, and the output of the secondthermal sensor exceeds a fourth threshold value, greater than the secondthreshold value.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the hardwarecontrol circuit is to cause the refresh when a difference between ahigher of the outputs of the first thermal sensor and the second thermalsensor and the other of the outputs exceeds a threshold value.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the hardware control circuit is to furthercause a refresh based on a power consumption of the dynamic memory die.7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the hardware control circuit is tofurther cause a refresh based on a power consumption of the die.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the hardware control circuit is to furthercause a refresh based on a power consumption of the die.
 9. A methodcomprising: providing a die comprising a core and a graphics processor;providing a dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping the die,wherein a first thermal sensor of the die is disposed adjacent to afirst hot spot from a workload of the graphics processor and a secondthermal sensor of the die is disposed adjacent to a second hot spot froma workload of the core; and causing, with a hardware control circuit ofthe die, a refresh of a capacitor of the dynamic memory die when eitherof an output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a first threshold valueand an output of the second thermal sensor exceeds a second thresholdvalue.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: providing asecond, dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping one of the die andthe dynamic memory die; and causing, with the hardware control circuit,a refresh of a capacitor of the second, dynamic memory die when eitherof the output of the first thermal sensor exceeds the first thresholdvalue and the output of the second thermal sensor exceed the secondthreshold value.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the die extendsbeyond the dynamic memory die, and the first thermal sensor of the dieand the second thermal sensor of the die are disposed adjacent to thedynamic memory die.
 12. The method of claim 9, further comprising notrefreshing, with the hardware control circuit, the capacitor when eitherof the output of the first thermal sensor exceeds a third thresholdvalue, greater than the first threshold value, and the output of thesecond thermal sensor exceeds a fourth threshold value, greater than thesecond threshold value.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the hardwarecontrol circuit is to cause the refresh when a difference between ahigher of the outputs of the first thermal sensor and the second thermalsensor and the other of the outputs exceeds a threshold value.
 14. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the hardware control circuit is to furthercause a refresh based on a power consumption of the dynamic memory die.15. The method of claim 14, wherein the hardware control circuit is tofurther cause a refresh based on a power consumption of the die.
 16. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the hardware control circuit is to furthercause a refresh based on a power consumption of the die.
 17. Anapparatus comprising: a system on a chip die comprising a core and agraphics processor; a dynamic memory die mounted to and overlapping thesystem on a chip die; a first thermal sensor in the core of the systemon a chip die disposed adjacent to a first hot spot from a workload ofthe core and a second thermal sensor in the graphics processor of thesystem on a chip die disposed adjacent to a second hot spot from aworkload of the graphics processor; and a hardware control circuit ofthe system on a chip die to cause a refresh of a capacitor of thedynamic memory die when either of an output of the first thermal sensorexceeds a first threshold value and an output of the second thermalsensor exceeds a second threshold value.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17,further comprising a second, dynamic memory die mounted to andoverlapping one of the system on a chip die and the dynamic memory die,wherein the hardware control circuit is to cause a refresh of acapacitor of the second, dynamic memory die when either of the output ofthe first thermal sensor exceeds the first threshold value and theoutput of the second thermal sensor exceed the second threshold value.19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the system on a chip die extendsbeyond the dynamic memory die, and the first thermal sensor of thesystem on a chip die and the second thermal sensor of the system on achip die are disposed adjacent to the dynamic memory die.
 20. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the hardware control circuit of thesystem on a chip die is to not refresh the capacitor when either of theoutput of the first thermal sensor exceeds a third threshold value,greater than the first threshold value, and the output of the secondthermal sensor exceeds a fourth threshold value, greater than the secondthreshold value.
 21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the hardwarecontrol circuit is to cause the refresh when a difference between ahigher of the outputs of the first thermal sensor and the second thermalsensor and the other of the outputs exceeds a threshold value.
 22. Theapparatus of claim 17, wherein the hardware control circuit is tofurther cause a refresh based on a power consumption of the dynamicmemory die.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the hardware controlcircuit is to further cause a refresh based on a power consumption ofthe system on a chip die.
 24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein thehardware control circuit is to further cause a refresh based on a powerconsumption of the system on a chip die.